City students clinch the crown

We had reported earlier (Edition dated: March 25) about a team of six engineering students from the city representing India at the coveted Nasa Human Exploration Rover Challenge in Huntsville. The team, called Team Technovators, is back from the international science event and they have clinched two prizes this time. They won the best system safety award and the best design report award along with cash prize of USD 250.

The team managed to emerge victorious even though there were a number of challenges facing them, reveals Raviteja Malladi, a member of the team. “Our flight got cancelled and we reached Huntsville a day later than we had to. The whole schedule went for a toss, but somehow that turned out in our favour. We were all charged up in a good way and the tempo was set. We then went gung ho on the challenge,” says Raviteja.

The happiness in their voice and the sense of making their country proud was evident as members of the team spoke to us about their victory. Kriti Singh, the team’s driver for the rover recounts, “I still can’t believe that we have actually won two awards. It was truly magically, just before the awards ceremony we remained quiet and were praying for a win and were almost jumping when our names were announced. We are the only Indian team to win two awards and that added to our happiness.”

For Ishaan Sonavne, it was a familiar experience as this was his second stint at the Nasa event. However, the challenge this time got all the more difficult. He shares, “The surface this year lacked grip and I had to then push the rover to the finish line. It was a 750m long pathway with over 15 obstacles. The judges and teams from other countries were impressed with our wheel design and we actually got compliments from the design judge, who has designed wheels for the Apollo mission in the past. We were extremely ecstatic when he lauded our efforts and he was glad to know that we had used 3D printing for our wheels.”

With over 99 teams participating from across the globe, this team was the only one from India to win two prestigious awards. “The wheel design was completely different this year and we did not use readymade rims. We won the best design report award this time and also the system safety award for third year in succession. In spite of all the hardships and last minute hassles we managed to emerge victorious, our hard work and team efforts finally paid off,” says a beaming team leader Mit Vaidya.

“This was my maiden visit and the whole experience of representing India at Nasa and competing with so many countries was extremely fulfilling. I wish we could spend some more time there. We had to return due to our exams and I couldn’t explore the place completely,” shares Isha Tawde.

With their exams on the anvil, these city kids are all set to celebrate their victory after giving their papers. “We will be distributing the price money among the team members and after our exams a small celebration with our faculty and friends is also on the cards. After all, they are the ones who have been really supportive,” concludes Mit.